


#RichGirlProblems

by butmostlymeo



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-11-29
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:58:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2686880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butmostlymeo/pseuds/butmostlymeo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Madge Undersee was the bane of Gale Hawthorne's existence in high school, but when he learns that she and Posy's favorite author Margaret Donner are one and the same he finds he shouldn't judge the book by its cover.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Gale picked up the book that was laying facedown where Posy had left it on the kitchen table, too engrossed in her cell phone to put it up. He was planning on just dropping it off in her room when the text in bold at the top of the page caught his eye. He fell into the nearest chair and began to read.

#Reasons to Date a Poor Guy

1) Need something from daddy? Start dating a poor guy, especially one with a reputation and suddenly: Anything you want? Daddy will get it for you, as long as it means you stop seeing said guy who clearly isn’t good enough for you.

2) Helping people feels really good. Sometimes you just have to give in to the sugar mama side of you. You can buy them nice shirts, treat them to sporting events, teach them about sushi. Having a kept man is just another perk of daddy’s checkbook.

3)Honestly, it feels silly to even have to explain this to you but if he can’t afford to buy you gifts he has to show his appreciation for you in other ways, if you catch my drift (Sex. I’m talking about sex.) And for the short period of time that you will be dating said poor guy he will most likely make it worth your while.

“POSY!” Gale bellowed. It took about a minute for his little sister to wander into the room, bored expression on her face.

“What? I’m trying to finish season one of Reign.” Posy said as she dragged her fingers through her long dark locks before picking up the ends to examine them.

“What the hell is this?” Gale growled, holding the book up. Posy slowly looked up. It was as if slow and sluggish was her default setting lately.

“It’s a book,” she responded. Stretching out each word as if Gale were an idiot.

“Does mom know you’re reading this garbage?” Gale interrogated. He doubted their mother would be pleased to know Posy was being spoonfed filth.

“It’s not garbage Gale. Geez, it’s the #1 bestseller.” Posy said with a roll of her eyes.  
“You didn’t answer my question,” Gale bit out.

“Yes, mom knows. She bought it for me.” Posy answered. Gale’s mouth dropped open. He didn’t believe that for a second

“Mom, our mother, Hazelle Hawthorne, bought this for you?” Gale asked.

“Yeah, I mean, I guess she bought it for herself but then she told me I had to read it because it was too hilarious to not read. She was right. Margaret Donner is like my hero.” Posy said.

That was enough to make Gale toss the book on the chair he had been sitting in and shake his head in disgust. He often forgot that Posy never went through what he had to. He had to watch two parents struggle with three kids and two measly incomes, and then he had to deal with the grief of his father’s death while his mother struggled to support four children on a pittance. Gale quickly found work, which at fourteen he wasn’t sure was entirely legal, getting a job as a stockboy at a local market and in an auto parts store. Gale had worked hard ever since, paying his way through community college and the local campus of the state school. Every day of his life had been filled with hard work. Posy on the other hand, knew very little of it, and it was hard to not feel slightly resentful. When Gale was twenty-two and Posy was eight the government finally settled the case of his father’s wrongful death and Hazelle got a hefty settlement.

“First of all, pick a real hero, and second of all, you’re nowhere near old enough to be reading this! You’re fourteen!”

“I’m in high school. Please stop pretending that I’m still four and don’t know the proper names for the human anatomy. Besides, Rory told me stories about you when you were fourteen.”

“That is different!” Gale said through clenched teeth.

“Why? Because I’m a girl?” Posy challenged, her chin jutted out and eyes flashing, looking every bit the Hawthorne.

No, Gale wanted to say, because your dad hasn’t just died.

Instead Gale stayed silent until Posy let out a scoff and turned on her heel. She didn’t speak to Gale for two days.

————

“Gale!” Posy shrieked in an uncharacteristic show of emotion. “Margaret Donner is on Caesar Flickerman tonight! Mom said I could have the tv to watch it!”  
Posy ripped the remote from his hand and plopped down on the couch and had the channel switched in seconds. Gale fought his annoyance by telling himself that at least he would get to see what this “Margaret Donner” looked like. Her author picture was just of the back of her (he was assuming it was hers) head with blonde curls cascading down her back. The familiar tune of Caesar Flickerman’s intro music blared into their living room, making Gale wince. Posy sat and texted through his opening monologue, only showing any sign of paying attention when Caesar mentioned Margaret’s name. Finally, after the first commercial break Caesar introduced the infamous Margaret Donner and Gale’s mouth went dry when she stepped out. He had no idea why she wouldn’t put her face on the cover because she was gorgeous.

“Margaret, so glad you could be here,” Caesar started off with his usual greeting.

“Oh my gosh, the pleasure is all mine. This is so wonderful,” Madge replied, her voice was clear and had just enough excitement to be believable but was nowhere near overeager.

“Her dress is to die for,” Gale overheard Posy say as his eyes stayed glued to the television screen. And for once he wasn’t going to disagree with her.

“So Margaret-“

“Please, call me Madge,” Margaret interrupted and the name got under Gale’s skin. He knew a girl named Madge before- from high school, because for some reason Katniss had to make friends with the mayor’s daughter, and she was the worst person Gale had ever met. He honestly had no idea why Katniss spent time with her. She was spoiled and had no appreciation for the privileged lifestyle she had. God, the more he looked at Margaret Donner, it was like all he could see was Madge Undersee.

“Madge, first of all I want to congratulate you on your book becoming the #1 best seller,” Caesar said, and even under the makeup Madge seemed bashful at this as the thanked him.

“I think we’re all dying to know where the inspiration for this book Hashtag Rich Girl Problems came from, aren’t we?” Caesar asked the audience. Madge inhaled.

“Honestly, the inspiration came from a boy.” The crowd “oohed” and Madge laughed. “I know, I hate that! It always comes down to a boy. But in high school my friend was friends with this guy who just hated me. Hated me. It was as if I ended every sentence with ‘And then I spit on the poor people.’ He thought I was the worst spoiled brat so it kind of became this fun game to say the most obnoxious things I could think of from,” Madge puts on an affected valley girl voice, “‘my aesthetician says I should only use mineral sunscreen’ and ‘I don’t chew gum, I’m not a cow’ and ‘you can say all water is the same but if something costs $4 it must be better.’”  
The audience laughed at her words but what had gotten under Gale’s skin when she told Caesar to call her Madge was starting to crawl out. That voice sounded so familiar. He recalled a manicured and made up blonde saying “my dog only drinks bottled water” before he focused again on the interview.

“And so it just became this running joke and then I went to college and studied English and creative writing and occasionally this character Margaret would come out. She only eats organic and would never use hair dye from a box. She pretends she doesn’t take her horoscope seriously but she actually does.”

“That sounds like a lot of people I know,” Caesar chimed in with a laugh.

“Exactly! Even though she’s a caricature, there’s a little bit of Margaret in us all.”

“Oh there’s definitely a little Margaret in me!” Caesar threw his head back and laughed. “I must know, has there been backlash at all? Because you say some controversial things in here about diet and sexuality,” Caesar asked. Finally, Gale thought, this is what he wanted to hear about, how this woman was brainwashing his little sister.

“I have gotten some, but I think something what those people forget is that it’s a humor book. And I’m obviously stretching the truth, but the fact is there’s some truth there. There is this awful stereotype of girls with money that some people live up to and that others just want them to live up to so they can point their finger at them and laugh, and I’m just playing into that.” Madge said. Caesar nodded in understanding. Gale could sort of get behind that, but he still felt that the material was inappropriate for a fourteen year old. But it did make him feel better to hear that it was just a humor book, even if it wasn’t his cup of tea. He just needed to make sure Posy was in on the joke.

“Now I hear you’re going on a book tour soon,” Caesar said and Madge lit up.

“Yes! It begins in two weeks and I’m starting in my hometown of Panem,” Madge said and as Posy screeched and began typing even faster on her phone Gale’s ears perked up at her words. Hometown? Sure Panem wasn’t exactly small so it’s completely possible he wouldn’t know Margaret Donner but still, her words from earlier about teasing a boy and the slope of her nose were infuriatingly familiar.

“Ah yes, now if you don’t mind I’d like to ask you a more personal question,” Caesar said, his eyes softening, the sharpness of his eyebrow falling. Madge just nodded.

“I understand that Donner is simply a nom de plume? Why is that?” Caesar asked, his elbow touched his desk as he leaned forward unknowingly mimicking Gale, who was so far forward his elbows were on his knees.

“I know that several people think and have even written that I changed it to distance myself from my father’s political career, but he hasn’t held an office since my freshman year of college and he doesn’t intend to.”

Madge Undersee’s father was a town councilman, then mayor, then a state senator.

“I used the name Donner to honor my mother who passed away a few years ago. It was her maiden name.”

Katniss mentioned going to Mrs. Undersee’s funeral a few years ago.

“That’s very meaningful and wonderful, although I know that a book by Margaret Undersee would sell just as well as one by Margaret Donner,” Caesar replied and that was when Gale felt a punch to the gut. His eyes weren’t fooling him. This gorgeous successful woman was Madge Undersee.

“Fuck,” Gale muttered under his breath.

Madge Undersee, ahem, Margaret Donner was on the tv screen several more times over the next week and Gale’s eyes were glued to the screen during every appearance, as were Posy’s. Clearly she was in the middle of a press tour and she was on another late night show and a morning show where she sat with a bunch of obnoxious women who complimented her outfit and didn’t understand why she wasn’t married. Gale continuously searched for signs of the girl he knew in high school. He couldn’t stop thinking about what she had said on Caesar. This whole persona started with a boy. A boy she liked to tease.

“You know she’s fucking with you right?” Katniss had said to him one afternoon.

“What?” Gale replied.

“Madge. She says that shit to rile you up. It’s a game to her. And she always wins.”

“God, you’re so full of shit,” Gale scoffed. “Why don’t you just admit that she’s awful and you regret being friends with her?” Katniss’s shoulders shook from silent laughter.

“Seeing your face every time she talks in your presence makes her friendship totally worth it.”

“Shut up, Catnip,” Gale sniped at her.

“Look, maybe if you were nice to her for five seconds and talked to her like a human being she’d do the same for you,” Katniss replied.

It wasn’t until she was on Good Morning! With Octavia and Flavius that the backstory of it all was brought up.

“Now you said the other night that this whole alter ego began with a boy. Was this a special boy?” Octavia asked.

“Oh,he must be if she started all this hullabaloo over him!” Flavius responded as Madge’s mouth opened and closed as she tried to get a word in.

“I mean, I definitely had a crush on him. I didn’t start acting like Margaret until it was so obvious that he wanted nothing to do with me. I was like a boy pulling a little girl’s pigtails. It was the only way I could get him to pay attention to me.” Madge said and every word after that it was as if they were underwater

I definitely had a crush on him

What?

When he closed his eyes and thought about the Madge Undersee he knew, not the polite, well spoken, and seemingly humble woman on his television screen, he pictured a teenage girl wearing a dress that reached just above her knees. Her hair curled and makeup barely visible. She was beautiful in an untouchable way and after seeing her for the first time sitting at his and Katniss’s lunch table Gale knew he didn’t like her. He knew he hated her when he stopped by Katniss’s home one Saturday and saw Madge’s pristine white range rover in front of the house. His chest burned when he saw her shiny, expensive car parked on the side of the road because Katniss’s driveway was so small it only had room for one car, her mom’s beat up camry. The fact that this girl was out flaunting her money and privilege ripped through him. He had to work almost every day. His mother had to work every day. Hell, his twelve year old brother was mowing lawns and pulling weeds for whatever people could pay him and this girl who had never worked a day in her life just showed up out of the blue and thought it was okay to sit with them. She was quiet at first. Katniss introduced her to him. He grunted, as was his typical greeting and she smiled at him. She was pretty and Gale couldn’t ignore that but it wasn’t hard to see that she had money. Her dresses were always pristine and she wore a watch that he swore had real diamonds in it, but she was as good as invisible to him until one day she started in with her comments. After that it took everything in him to not ditch their lunch table. He brought Thom to sit with them in hopes it would calm him down, but it didn’t. No, Thom made friends with her and soon the three of them (including Katniss, for God’s sake) were laughing it up and having fun and making plans and all Gale could do was watch as Hell obviously froze over. But if what she had said was true, clearly he wasn’t as strong and silent as he hoped. His hatred was apparently obvious and enough to make a sixteen year old girl develop some very interesting flirting techniques. That thought put a small smirk on Gale’s face before it fell. Putting ten years distance and some perspective on the situation changed things, even if that perspective was Madge Undersee straight up saying that it was an act. He rubbed a hand over his face. Maybe, just maybe, he had some apologizing to do

“Hey Pose!” he shouted. “How would you like your big brother to take you to Margaret Donner’s book signing?”  
—————-  
Hazelle Hawthorne’s jaw dropped when Gale offered the take Posy to the book signing.

"Wouldn’t you rather take Vick to his baseball game?" she had asked.

"I think me and Pose need a little bonding time," Gale answered, earning a nod from Hazelle. She knew things had been a little frosty between the two of them.

The morning of the signing (“We have to get there at LEAST a couple of hours early if we want to be some of the first to see her Gale!” Posy had screeched at him), Gale put on his nice jeans and a button down shirt and swung by his old house (that he frequented probably too frequently) to pick up Posy, who was standing in the driveway wearing some ridiculous hippie-ish dress and way too much makeup clutching her copy of #RichGirlProblems to her chest. She didn’t stop chattering the whole drive which Gale was grateful for. He just wanted Posy to speak to him again. When they pulled into the Barnes and Noble, Gale was glad that they had gotten there early. It was a painful two hours during which Posy stared at her phone and occasionally waved to a girls who were further back in line than her that she apparently knew from school. The time dragged until a piercing sound known only as microphone feedback screeched and caused everyone to cover their ears. However, it was an effective way to command everyone’s attention to the middle of the store where the table that Madge would be sitting in was situated.

"Welcome, welcome!" a woman wearing an obnoxiously bright outfit spoke into the microphone. "I know we’re all so excited to be here today to celebrate Panem’s own Margaret Donner author of New York Time’s bestseller #RichGirlProblems so without further ado, here she is: Margaret Donner!”

Gale thanked his genes for being six foot three in this crowd as Madge came out from a tiny door off to the side and waved.

”Oh my God she’s wearing Balenciaga,” He heard Posy say, whatever that meant. It was definitely a fashion girl outfit but all he cared about was he saw a glimpse of her exposed stomach in the crop top and the expanse of her legs. Her blonde hair gleamed and looked so smooth he wasn’t sure how he was going to resist the urge to touch it when he got up there to the table. Madge walked over to the table and whispered something to the woman before taking the microphone.

”Hi everyone,” she paused as clapping and some teenage girl screams drowned out her voice. She pulled the microphone away from her face and looked in awe of the sea of people that had shown up to see her. It was then that Gale recognized the teenager that he had known, the look on her face so similar to the one she wore the few (very few) times that he had been somewhere near nice to her. 

"I just want to start by saying thank you to everyone who came out today. The idea that even one person would buy my book is amazing enough and seeing all of you here just makes me so incredibly happy. Panem is very special to me and I could not be more excited to be here today. I want to make sure that I get to everyone so let’s get started, shall we?" she asked with a huge grin on her face. The kind that made her eyes squint and her nose scrunch.

The time seemed to drag even more now that Madge was here and he knew he was so close. Finally as they were just a few people away Gale could see what was taking so long. Not only did Madge ask for the name of the person whose book she was signing, she was even going so far as to take selfies and talk. God it was frustrating how nice she was being. Did she not understand he was trying to apologize for being douchebag eighteen year old? When it was finally their turn, an unusually jittery Posy walked up to the table and laid her book on it. Madge flashed her a smile.

“I love your dress,” Madge said to her and Gale was worried that Posy might actually die.

“OhmygodthankyousomuchIloveyouyou’resofunny,” Posy word vomited. Madge had the decency to not laugh and just said thank you. She asked for her name and after she signed the book her eyes finally flicked up to Gale and her double take was comical. She stared at him wordlessly for a good five seconds, it was enough that even Posy broke out of her stupor and noticed.

“Hey Madge,” he said quietly.

“Hey Gale,” she responded just as quietly.

“Wait-“ Posy started to say before Gale interrupted.

“Um could you sign one for my mom,” he asked, slipping his own copy of the book onto the table. “Hazelle with two Ls and an E at the end.”

“Yeah no problem,” she said and she almost frantically scribbled into the book.

“Thanks,” Gale said. God, why was this so hard?

“And Madge, you know, congrats about everything. You deserve it,” he finally said. Madge looked up at him and she again wore that expression of awe before breaking out into another blinding grin.

“Thanks Gale. That- uh- that means a lot,” she answered. “A lot,” she said again, this time quieter.

“And uh sorry,for you know, being a dick in high school,” Gale said. A blush flooded Madge’s face.

“Oh um, it’s whatever now.”

Gale was disappointed. He wasn’t sure what he thought was going to happen but he was hoping for a little more than that. As he and Posy started to back away Madge suddenly stood half up in her chair

“Gale, wait,” and the volume of her voice drew quite a bit of attention but Gale didn’t care. Madge’s cheeks were red and her eyes were wide and he couldn’t look away.

“Would you want to have dinner with me tonight? To catch up and stuff?” she asked. Gale just nodded.

“Okay great. Yeah, I’m staying at my dad’s house,” she paused, “you remember where that is right?” Gale nodded again. “Pick me up at eight?” she asked. Gale nodded once more, his lips unable to form words, just able to smile.

“Okay, awesome!” I’ll see you then,” Madge said. Their smiles twins as they looked at each other.

“WAIT!” Posy’s voice broke through the trance. The two looked at the girl who had briefly been forgotten about.

“Can I take a selfie with you?”


	2. Chapter 2

"How do you know Margaret Donner?" Posy asked for the fifth time since they exited the Barnes and Noble.

"We went to high school together," Gale replied for the fifth time.

"Yeah, but like, how do you know her?” Posy pressed.

"She was good friends with Katniss, I was good friends with Katniss, therefore we spent time around each other," Gale answered hoping it would satisfy her. He really didn’t feel like explaining that he was a jerk to her idol when they were in high school. In this moment, Gale was her cool older brother again and he wanted to keep it that way. He dropped Posy off at home but was able to grab her and give her a hug and kiss on the top of her head before she dashed out of the car with her and Hazelle’s signed books. When he looked at the clock on his car he realized he only had a couple of hours to kill before his dinner with Madge. It had come out of nowhere and Gale wondered what it was about. He couldn’t deny that he was excited. It had been a while since he’d been out with a beautiful woman, but he also hadn’t been out with someone who had the history he and Madge had. That is to say, being acquaintances with rather strong opinions about the other. Gale wasn’t much for mulling over his feelings so he had always ignored any over the years that involved Madge and any feeling other than anger. He never asked any follow up questions, despite wanting to, whenever Katniss brought Madge up over the years. And years ago in high school, he certainly didn’t give any thought to the emotions that seemed eerily similar to jealousy when Thom took Madge to prom their senior year. Once he got home, he made some phone calls for work then contemplated changing clothes, but he figured he was already dressed up enough. Ten til eight he climbed into his car and headed for Madge Undersee’s old house.

When Gale pulled into the Undersee’s driveway he put his car in park and looked at the house. It had been a while since he’d driven past it and even longer since he’d really looked at it. Sure, it was bigger than his home, much bigger, but it wasn’t extravagant. It looked like every other house in the neighborhood. It had deep red brick with a well tended garden and a pecan tree out front but it wasn’t the McMansion he had always envisioned as a teen. Gale knew that he had a lot of anger back then, anger that he misdirected at anyone that he perceived had things easier than him. Which, in his mind, was almost everyone.

He wasn’t sure if he should get out and ring the doorbell or if she was just going to meet him outside. She hadn’t said anything other than to pick her up at eight. Figuring he should probably be a gentleman, Gale opened his car door and stepped out. However, as soon as he shut it, Madge appeared, swiftly walking down the steps from her porch and towards his car.

“Don’t worry about it!” she called and waved her hand as though to say Get back in the car. She walked briskly and her hair flew out behind her. It was still smooth and straight from this morning and Gale remembered Madge’s sometimes uncontrollable tangled waves from high school except for a few times when she wore it straight. Gale remembered not being able to look away from her. When Thom tried to give him shit about staring he had huffed “It’s like I’m being blinded by a yellow curtain,” and a horrified Thom grabbed his shoulders and said “Dude, don’t ever call a blonde girl’s hair yellow. At least, not if you want to keep your nads.”

Madge walked around the car to the passenger side and slid into the seat. Gale tried to discreetly admire the way she looked in her casual dress with her hair falling over shoulders before speaking up.

“So where did you want to go to dinner?” Gale asked as Madge buckled her seatbelt. She looked up and smiled at him.

“I’ve been dying to go to Sae’s” she answered. The corners of Gale’s lips tugged upward. Sae’s was something of an institution in Panem. A little Italian restaurant that served huge portions and only accepted cash, but it was easily some of the best food Gale had ever eaten. The market that he used to work for was the supplier and Gale used to make the deliveries. Sae would always pinch his cheeks and send him home with a piece of tiramisu.

The drive to Sae’s was short and he asked Madge when she had gotten in. She told him that her flight had arrived at ten that morning and she had a flight out at seven AM the next day to get to the next stop of her book tour.

“Panem wasn’t my booking agent’s first pick for where I should begin my tour but I refused to start anywhere else,” she said. “Which was probably a little diva-like of me but I hadn’t been home in such a long time. I wanted to see my dad and sleep in my old bed.” She sighed. “That sounds dumb doesn’t it?” Gale glanced over at her, to see she was looking at her perfectly polished nails.

“No. That’s not dumb at all. I live ten minutes away from my old house and I still go over there for dinner about three times a week,” he laughed. “I don’t know, Rory’s a senior in college out of state but Posy and Vick are still in high school and I don’t know… I just want to be there for them. Remind them I’m still their older brother even if I don’t live at home anymore.” He chanced another glance at Madge and found her looking at him. Her head snapped back to the front when he made eye contact. He couldn’t contain his grin as he looked back at the road.

Pretty soon Gale had pulled into the small parking lot at Sae’s and had walked around to Madge’s door to open it for her, but before he could get to it she was already shutting the door.

“Oh, sorry! I mean, thank you though,” Madge stammered. Gale nodded before gesturing with his arm for her to lead the way. She gave him a small smile before walking to the door. Gale reached around her to pull it open and they stepped through. Madge let out a satisfied hum at the smell that hit their nostrils.

“Oh god, I needed this,” Madge said, looking over her shoulder to Gale. A teenage girl sat them towards the back of the small dining room and before Gale could say anything, a waiter appeared, a boy who looked to barely be eighteen. Madge looked sheepishly at Gale.

“Would you want to split a half carafe of the house red? It’s my favorite.” Madge said. Gale smiled. Sae’s of course didn’t have a wine list. There was only a house red and a house white that was sold by the glass or the whole or half carafe.

“Yeah, I’d love to,” Gale answered. Madge placed the order and then asked the waiter if Sae was in.

“Yeah, she’s in the back.”

“If at all possible could you tell her that Madge Undersee is here. If she’s too busy I totally get it.” The boy nodded his head and walked away.

“You know Sae?” Gale asked.

“Yeah, my family used to come here all the time. It was my mom’s favorite restaurant,” she answered, the sparkle in her eyes never dimming even after mentioning her mother.

“In high school, I used to make deliveries here. Sae always gave me a hard time,” he said. Madge laughed at that.

“Oh, I can see that. Sae probably had a field day messing with a cute boy like you.” Gale’s smile dropped for a second. He had been wondering if anything like that was going to be brought up. This so-called “crush” she had. He figured if she was going to bring it up then they should probably address it

“So I saw your interview on-“ Gale started. Madge’s eyes widened before a decanter was placed in the middle of the table along with two glasses. The wine was poured and both took large gulps.

“Are you ready to order or would you like some more time?” the waiter asked. Madge glanced at Gale

“I’m ready if you are,” she said to him

“Yeah, go ahead,” Gale said.

“I’d like the spaghetti bolognese, please,” Madge said before folding her menu and handing it to the waiter.

“Fettucini alfredo,” Gale said as he handed the menu over. The waiter jotted down their order before going and checking on his other table.

“God, we just placed the most boring orders ever.” Madge said with a chuckle.

“Classics are classics for a reason,” Gale with a smirk. Fettucini alfredo was the only thing he had ever ordered from Sae’s since he was a little boy. Madge smiled warmly at him before lifting her wine glass to her lips.

“So, the girl at the signing today was your little sister?” Madge asked, her voice so clear and sincere.

“Yeah, Posy. She’s been a little terror lately,” Gale said with a shake of his head.

“Really? How old is she?” Madge asked.

“Fourteen. And all she cares about is CW shows and clothes that she can’t afford and texting her friends.”

“I mean, she’s fourteen. It’s okay if she’s not concerned about saving the environment or something more serious.”

“I know,” Gale said, gesturing with his hand, “it’s just when I was fourteen I was working and I had a lot more on my mind than the dumb shit that flits through her head. “ Gale said almost without thinking. He looked up, hoping that Madge hadn’t been insulted by his words. He was surprised though to see her looking at him inquisitively with her head tilted to the side.

“Well,” Madge began slowly,” you worked to help support your family right?” Madge questioned. Gale just nodded, unsure where she was going with this. 

“Well, that’s an extremely admirable thing, it really is, but you did it because you had to. You did it for your family. And because of that Posy doesn’t have to worry about things like having enough food for the week, or anything of that nature. She gets to be a teenage girl who worries about if her favorite fictional couple is going to get together or what her favorite actress is going to wear on the red carpet. Is it shallow? A little bit. But she’s fourteen and she’ll grow out of that to some degree. I mean she might always care about those things, but her interests will expand, I promise. But because of the hard work you did, she gets to be a normal teenage girl.” Madge said. Gale slowly let out his breath. God. He met her eyes and stared. He’d never thought of it that way. But it’s true. He didn’t want Posy to have to work every day after school. No, he wanted her to go to homecoming in a new dress and to have fun with her friends and to go to sleep with a full stomach.

“You’re right,” he finally said. Madge let out a laugh and then immediately covered her mouth. Gale looked at her curiously.

“I’m so sorry, I just… I never thought I would see the day where Gale Hawthorne would say that I was right. About anything. Ever.” She said. Gale couldn’t help but laugh at that as well.

“Yeah, believe me I never thought I’d admit that Madge Undersee was right about something either, but here we are.” Gale said

“Here we are.” Madge answered heartily.

“I also never thought I’d be at dinner with Madge Undersee but again, here we are,” Gale said, his eyes settling on Madge’s once more. He set his hand on the table, inches from where hers were wrapped around her wine glass.

“Here we are,” Madge echoed.

“Did you mean what you said on tv?” Gale choked out.

“Huh?”

“When you did those interviews, with Caesar and Octavia and stuff you talked about a guy who may or may not have been a giant ass to you in high school,” Gale said. Madge’s hands went to her hair and she began to nervously twist the ends for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said. Gale furrowed his brow.

“For what?”

“I didn’t mean to call you out on national tv. I was just answering questions and I honestly didn’t think you would ever see that,” she answered, her voice wavering.

“Oh no!” Gale said, “I didn’t think you were calling me out. Even if you were I deserved it. I was a jerk and you didn’t deserve the way I treated you.”

“Thank you for saying that. Even though, honestly,” she exhaled, “I didn’t mind it. Which I now realize was very unhealthy. But at the time I was just glad someone was paying attention to me. My mom was really sick all the time so my dad was dealing with her, not to mention his work. And don’t get me wrong, I love Katniss, but we initially became friends because we didn’t mind sitting in utter silence. So when you started sitting with us at lunch and you obviously couldn’t stand me it kind of thrilled me. I was so used to being ignored or just being this neutral constant in people’s lives that actually causing a strong reaction in someone was so important to me.”

“Wow,” was all Gale could say

“I know. I sound crazy,” Madge said shaking her head and reaching again for her wine glass.

“A little but I think I get it. Is that why you started acting like Margaret?” Galed asked taking a sip of his own wine.

“Pretty much,” Madge shrugged. Gale chuckled and looked at her until she met his eyes. As soon as they did, a small smile formed on her pink lips. Suddenly he couldn’t look away from them. Her lips parted and just as Gale thought she might say something steaming plates were placed in front of them.

“Oh my god,” Madge breathed out. He watched as she closed her eyes and leaned forward to inhale. Gale couldn’t look at anything else but her. He wasn’t hungry anymore. At least not for his pasta. He wanted to kiss her lips and touch her hair and to feel her legs wrapped around his waist.

“Hot, hot, hot!” Gale was shocked out of his daydream by Madge frantically waving her hands in front of her mouth. When she finally swallowed she grimaced.

“I can feel it burning all the way down my chest.” At the mention of her chest, Gale couldn’t help glancing down. He’d noticed earlier the slight cleavage her dress revealed. 

“I just have such a hard time waiting for my food to cool down. I want to eat it right away!” Madge exclaimed. Gale laughed and gently blew on his own plate.

“One time after eating this too fast I swear I couldn’t taste anything for three days. I’d killed all my taste buds.” She giggled at him and the two chattered on until Madge declared the food cool enough and they dug in. Gale had to admit that it was pretty adorable watching Madge eat a huge bowl of pasta. He could tell she was trying to mind her manners but it was difficult.  
Just as Gale was about to wave the white flag on his plate he heard a familiar scratchy voice.

“My angels! How are you doing?” Sae exclaimed as she clapped both Gale and Madge on the shoulder with her hands. Madge quickly dabbed her napkin to her face before standing up and enveloping the woman in a hug.

“Margaret! What are you doing here?” Sae asked.

“I’m just in town for the night. I was here for my book tour,” Madge answered. Sae nodded and looked over at Gale, a sly smirk appearing on her face.

“And to visit your boyfriend I see,” Sae said, reaching over to pinch Gale’s cheek.

“Oh no, Gale and I were just catching up. Old friends you know,” Madge said winking at Gale while Sae was looking at him.

“Yeah, hadn’t seen her in a while. Thought we would visit our favorite restaurant.” Gale said.

“You’re damn right you would. I’ll make sure to send you two home with some tiramisu.“ Sae said.

“Oh you don’t have-“ Madge began before Sae cut her off.

“Darling, when will you be coming back to see me?”

“Well, my tour is only a few weeks and then actually I’ll be back in town. I’m thinking about moving back,” Gale perked up at these words and founds Madge’s eyes on him. “It’ll be good to be with my dad and I can write anywhere, you know.”

“Of course you can darling. Now, I’ve got to get back to my kitchen but it was so wonderful seeing you two. Madge, I’ll see you in a few weeks and Gale you should bring your baby siblings to see me sometime soon.” Sae

“I sure will Sae,” Gale laughed as Sae wandered back to the kitchen stopping at another table along the way.

“So, moving back to town huh?” Gale inquired teasingly.

“Thinking about it,” Madge said noncommittally. Gale gave her a look.

“Yeah, okay. Probably.” Madge laughed. “I’m not going to move into my old house or anything like that, but I do want to be closer to my dad.”

“That makes perfect sense. And it’s true I suppose, you can write anywhere,” Gale said.

“God, my agent is already on my ass about a follow up,” Madge shook her head and reached for the carafe to pour herself the last glass of wine.

“Already?” Gale was surprised. Her book hadn’t been out that long. Madge just nodded.

“Well, It’ll be great whenever you write it. You might be surprised to hear this, but I actually read your book.” Madge’s eyes widened and her grin became almost chesire-like.

“No, you didn’t,” Madge shook her head.

“I did.” Madge burst into laughter. “At first it was because I was horrified that my baby sister was reading something that mentioned sex but then I kind of couldn’t put it down. I was still mad at you, or Margaret Donner or whatever, but it was really well-written. Really funny.” Gale said as Madge wiped a tear from her face.

“Oh, god. What was your favorite chapter?” she questioned.

“Well, the one that really caught my eye was Reasons to Date a Poor Guy and at first I was really offended but then after I watched your first interview where you pointed out that it was a humor book I started to appreciate it.” Madge let out a sigh of relief.

Pretty soon their waiter stopped by with a doggy bag of tiramisu for each of them and informed them that Sae was refusing payment from them and if they tried anything she would ban them from her establishment. Gale couldn’t say he was surprised. It was a very Sae thing to do. Madge still slipped the waiter a twenty as a tip and they made their way towards Gale’s car. This time Gale walked to the passenger side and was able to open Madge’s door for her, but before she climbed in she grabbed Gale’s hand.

“Hey, thank you for this. I’m glad you don’t hate me anymore.” Madge said. Gale laced their fingers together

“I definitely don’t hate you,” and before he thought too much about it he lowered his face to hers and met her lips in a soft kiss. Madge responded to his kiss, and after a few seconds he pulled away. He opened his eyes and found that hers were still shut. She blinked them open slowly.

“When you get back from your tour I’d really like to take you to dinner again,” Gale said softly.

“I’d really like that too,” she whispered. She climbed into her seat and Gale rounded the car to get into the driver’s seat. The drive back to her place was almost completely silent save for the radio, but as soon as he had put his car in drive he took a hand off the steering wheel and slipped it into hers. After the too-short drive, Gale pulled into her driveway and the dreaded moment where she took her hand out of his occurred, but she reached into her bag and pulled her phone out.

“Could I get your phone number? So we can stay in touch?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I really want that.” Gale answered quickly. Madge smiled as she programmed his phone number into her phone and sent him a quick text so he would have hers. Before she exited the car she leaned across the console and with her hand on the back of his neck, she pulled Gale in for one last searing kiss. He lost all capacity for rational thought when her tongue slid into his mouth. Too soon she was pulling away and stepping out of his car. He wanted to pull her back, but she was too far away now.

“I’ll see you in three weeks,” she said.

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice hoarse and his mind muddled. He watched her walk up to her front door and she turned and waved once more before entering her home and shutting the door behind her.

He already knew the next three weeks wouldn’t go by fast enough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted to my tumblr mereditheo

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my tumblr mereditheo


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